Cocktails anyone??

[chloes nana]

okay everyone! I am on my first ever cruise in August for 20 days in the meditteranean onboar the Noordam and would like some input and suggestions here.

I am not a real drinker but hey when in Rome! ;)

What is your favorite cocktail/drink on board a HAL ship and what is in it?? I really want to try different drinks, and know you wonderful CC folks can help me out on this one.

:pPhyllis

[mszula]

DH and I both believe (upon much research) that the spirits on Carnival have been watered down a bit. I don't know if this happens on other lines. We now stick with beer and wine so that we get what we pay for. We will have the occasional frozen drink at the pool with the expectations that it is pretty much alcohol free.

[Harry1954]

While we are not big drinkers either, we do imbibe on cruises by having cocktail before dinner. We have found the martinis to be great. Also the vodka/tonic and gin/tonics are good too. Now we pay a small extra fee for name brand, but that shouldnt matter.

harry

[numbersix]

Wow! First-ever cruise...20 days...Mediterranean...nothing by half-measure for you, huh? Talk about diving into cruising head-first! Phyllis--that sounds FANTASTIC!!! We LOVE Med cruises, and we're sure you will, to. And--HAL will treat you like a Queen!

 

Have a fabulous time!

 

About your question...every cruise line is different, drink-wise. I find Holland America is a little staid with these things, so you won't see the huge "Big Gulp"-style frozen drinks like on Princess (too bad!), or the beer in the bucket like on Carnival, or the martini flight like on Celebrity (too bad!). Having saaid that, they do have a full line of cocktails, and always a cocktail of the day, at a special (slightly reduced ) price. Have fun!

 

Kevin

[marti2282]

HAL has Mixology Classes that are FUN and you get to taste yummy drinks. Get there early tho--the fee is about the price of the drinks and bar fills up fast. Overflow patrons sit at tables so miss most of the fun behind the bar.

[numbersix]

LOVE the red shoes!;)

[HALFans]

Here's my take:

 

Holland America does NOT water down their booze at all. <hic, believe me!>

 

On our last Oosterdam cruise they had an 'all you could drink' on Pina Coladas one night around the Lido pool.

 

My favorite is 'almost' a Rob Roy - Scotch on ice with just enough Sweet Vermouth to darken it up a bit. Garnish with a cherry.

 

There's a drink 'making the rounds' recently but I don't remember the name of it... I'm sure once you're on board you'll hear about it though! :D

 

Yes, you CAN get a 'bucket of beer' - you just have to ask and there is a small discount - at least at the Dolphin bar (by the mid-deck Lido pool).

 

The Ocean Bar is a favored spot for pre-dinner drinks by many people, as is the Crow's Nest (to a lesser degree).

 

As others have said, do the 'Mixology' classes! I did one of the Martini Tastings, and for only $6 more you got to keep the neat Holland America logo glasses (set of 6!).

 

The Piano Bar is a fun place when there's a "Name that tune" etc. going on. Not sure when the Noordam is slated for it (sometime after Spring 2011), but that area is going to be changed into 'Mix' - a 3 'segment' bar dedicated to Champagne, Spirits and Beer/Ale, and Martinis.

 

:o As you can tell, I'm not a 'when in Rome' type of guy. I'm more like "Where I am, there is Rome". Veni, Vidi, SLURP! (I came, I saw, I swallowed!) ;)

[chloes nana]

Wow! First-ever cruise...20 days...Mediterranean...nothing by half-measure for you, huh? Talk about diving into cruising head-first! Phyllis--that sounds FANTASTIC!!! We LOVE Med cruises, and we're sure you will, to. And--HAL will treat you like a Queen!

Kevin

thanks Kevin! yep! I decided if I was doing this, to go all out and do our dream vacation first! My DH wants to live out his Ben Hur fantasies so who am I to squash his dream!! I can hardly wait! And HAL had the best itenerary and length we wanted. Just want to know some fun drinks to savor while on board:D

[chloes nana]

Here's my take:

 

Holland America does NOT water down their booze at all. <hic, believe me!>

 

On our last Oosterdam cruise they had an 'all you could drink' on Pina Coladas one night around the Lido pool.

 

My favorite is 'almost' a Rob Roy - Scotch on ice with just enough Sweet Vermouth to darken it up a bit. Garnish with a cherry.

 

There's a drink 'making the rounds' recently but I don't remember the name of it... I'm sure once you're on board you'll hear about it though! :D

 

Yes, you CAN get a 'bucket of beer' - you just have to ask and there is a small discount - at least at the Dolphin bar (by the mid-deck Lido pool).

 

The Ocean Bar is a favored spot for pre-dinner drinks by many people, as is the Crow's Nest (to a lesser degree).

 

As others have said, do the 'Mixology' classes! I did one of the Martini Tastings, and for only $6 more you got to keep the neat Holland America logo glasses (set of 6!).

 

The Piano Bar is a fun place when there's a "Name that tune" etc. going on. Not sure when the Noordam is slated for it (sometime after Spring 2011), but that area is going to be changed into 'Mix' - a 3 'segment' bar dedicated to Champagne, Spirits and Beer/Ale, and Martinis.

 

:o As you can tell, I'm not a 'when in Rome' type of guy. I'm more like "Where I am, there is Rome". Veni, Vidi, SLURP! (I came, I saw, I swallowed!) ;)

LOL!!!:D you are funny! I plan on enjoying my first cruise ever, and doing the "I came, I ordered, I slugged it down" a couple times.;) Just need some fun drinks to do that with, I was under the impression that HAL had some signature drinks?? I will definitely look into the mixology classes though!

[ViolaSwamp]

I recommend purchasing the cocktail cards. We bought three and they were far more convenient than whipping out our room key every time we wanted a beverage...

[chloes nana]

I recommend purchasing the cocktail cards. We bought three and they were far more convenient than whipping out our room key every time we wanted a beverage...

those cards works for any cocktail??

[NiewCruiser]

HAL has Mixology Classes that are FUN and you get to taste yummy drinks. Get there early tho--the fee is about the price of the drinks and bar fills up fast. Overflow patrons sit at tables so miss most of the fun behind the bar.

 

How quick they fill up is all dependent on the cruise. When we were on the Westerdam in January there were 6 people the first day 4 the next two days and a max of 8 the last day. The smaller groups definitely make it more fun, they even let us come behind the bar and mix the drinks!:D

 

 

PS My favorite HAL Signature drink is the South Seas Aviator. C, my wife, fell in love with the Cucumber Lime Smash with gin (definitely don't knock it till you try it, very refreshing and perfect after a day of scuba)

[chloes nana]

How quick they fill up is all dependent on the cruise. When we were on the Westerdam in January there were 6 people the first day 4 the next two days and a max of 8 the last day. The smaller groups definitely make it more fun, they even let us come behind the bar and mix the drinks!:D

 

 

PS My favorite HAL Signature drink is the South Seas Aviator. C, my wife, fell in love with the Cucumber Lime Smash with gin (definitely don't knock it till you try it, very refreshing and perfect after a day of scuba)

whats in the south seas aviator????

[NiewCruiser]

The south seas aviator as best as I remember is:

 

1/8th section of grapefruit - muddled in glass

Pack glass with ice

1.5 oz gin

.5 oz Kirsch liqueur

Shake well and strain into Cocktail glass

Edit: Garnish with maraschino cherry

 

Essentially its just an Aviator or Aviation with Grapefruit instead of Lemon.

 

Enjoy!

[Two@Sea]

I have mentioned this story before, so if it is redundant, feel free to skip to the next post... ;)

 

We usually settled into the Ocean Bar for a cocktail before dinner on our last HAL cruise. As is their way, the wonderful staff noted my drink preference the first evening, and prepared it when they noticed us approaching after that.

 

I had decided I wanted to try something different one night, and mentioned it to my DH as we were dressing for dinner. When the bar servers automatically brought my 'usual' DH casually mentioned, "Well, dear, it seems you will have to wait until tomorrow evening to try your very first Cosmo."

 

The next night, the entire bar staff gathered around our little cocktail table as soon as we were seated, placed a surprise Cosmo in front of me, waited until I took my first sip, and then broke into a round of applause when I declared it to be "Very Good!"

 

So... maybe you might like to try a Cosmo! :)

[CowPrincess]

We discovered mojitos on our Mex cruise, and now I'm hooked -- they are VERY refreshing, light rum, mint and lime are the tastes I think I remember :)

[ore-ee-gun]

My favorites are the fresh grapefruit cosmo and the lemon drop. We've also done the mixology classes and they are a blast (3 drinks in an hour pretty much guarantees it :eek:)!

[chloes nana]

My favorites are the fresh grapefruit cosmo and the lemon drop. We've also done the mixology classes and they are a blast (3 drinks in an hour pretty much guarantees it :eek:)!

OKAY, I know a cosmo but what is in the lemon drop????:confused:

[newmexicoNita]

okay everyone! I am on my first ever cruise in August for 20 days in the meditteranean onboar the Noordam and would like some input and suggestions here.

I am not a real drinker but hey when in Rome! ;)

What is your favorite cocktail/drink on board a HAL ship and what is in it?? I really want to try different drinks, and know you wonderful CC folks can help me out on this one.

:pPhyllis

 

Drinks seem to be weaker than in years past and the prices higher. For us, we feel safe with wine or a martini. DH often will have scotch on the rocks. That way he is pretty sure whatever he gets is the real thing..

 

Nita

[ore-ee-gun]

OKAY, I know a cosmo but what is in the lemon drop????:confused:

 

 

Vodka, lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best), and sugar syrup. Lemonade for grownups! :p

[chloes nana]

Drinks seem to be weaker than in years past and the prices higher. For us, we feel safe with wine or a martini. DH often will have scotch on the rocks. That way he is pretty sure whatever he gets is the real thing..

 

Nita

I am really not a wine drinker, never acquired a taste for it, unless you know a really sweet, not dry wine the HAL ships serve? otherwise I think I need fun and fruity;)

[chloes nana]

Vodka, lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best), and sugar syrup. Lemonade for grownups! :p

yummy!!!! that sounds wonderful!!:D

[4thDAMgeneration]

ok, i don't drink anymore but when i did...the best drink that i ever had on HAL was a WANG WANG.:D 7 kinds of liquor with a little bit a juice, and after a couple you won't remember much of anything.;)

[chloes nana]

ok, i don't drink anymore but when i did...the best drink that i ever had on HAL was a WANG WANG.:D 7 kinds of liquor with a little bit a juice, and after a couple you won't remember much of anything.;)

kinda like a long island iced tea....a little dab will do you!!:rolleyes:

[kakalina]

the Wang Wang and the Green Appletini are my faves. The lemon drop is quite good also.